


Redemption in the Aftermath

by PracticalOrBrave__Brave



Series: Redemption in the Aftermath [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PracticalOrBrave__Brave/pseuds/PracticalOrBrave__Brave
Summary: In the aftermath of Starkiller Base, Rey begins having dreams of a First Order prisoner. When these dreams seem to become visions, Rey must convince her companions to join her in a rescue mission.





	1. Chapter 1

# Chapter 1

_Stop_   
_Please_

_Rey?_

She woke with a start, sitting up in her bed. Her alert eyes scanned the room hastily. “Who’s there?” she called. Her own anxious breaths were the only answer. _Another dream_ , she realized, though her eyes scanned the room again, as if not fully convinced. 

She heaved a sigh at the emptiness and reached to a dark pile of cloth near her feet. She’d kicked off her blanket again. Much time had gone by since she’d left her home planet Jakku and joined the Resistance, though the latter happened more by accident, yet she still was not used to the heat of a wool blanket at night. Back on Jakku, nights were cold, of course, but she’d gotten used to never having sufficient coverings. Night fires had been out of the question. Too risky, especially on that planet. She would instead surround herself with what little coverings she had and curl up on her sleeping mat inside the fallen AT-AT, surrounded by junk she’d found during the day that she either couldn’t barter for meals or wanted to fix for herself. Nights were only six hours long. She could last. _She did_ last.

Rey pulled the blanket up to her shoulder. It was warm, like the room, and within minutes, she slipped out of consciousness.

_You lost the girl._   
_Yes, supreme leader. Argh!!_   
_You not only lost us a chance at building our Jedi army, you lost us the map to Luke Skywalker!_   
_AH! Y—yes supreme leader._   
_Have you also lost your path?_   
_No!_   
_Is the call of the light too strong for your weakness to overcome?_   
_N—no, supreme leader!!_

Her eyes opened suddenly in the darkness. She’d been having strange dreams for more than a week. They were always the same: someone calling out for help, begging. Two nights ago, they’d called her name. Last night, though, the dream was perhaps a continuation of the first few, as the dialogue was vastly different, though the voidance of faces and scenery continued.

Her previous dreams were difficult to decipher. Last night’s dream, however, was easy. It was the First Order leader Kylo Ren, yelling with the affected voice of his gratuitous helmet. He was torturing someone. Though obviously in pain, desperately pleading to Ren, and fearing for their life, the voice of the man being attacked was powerful, strong even. Rey admired it. To show strength when you are weak is a sign of resilience, a sign of resistance to submission. Something she knew all too well; something, she knew, the murderous Kylo Ren knew nothing. But who was he? The Jedi was lashing out because Rey had escaped with the map to Luke Skywalker, which was apparently the fault of Ren’s victim, yet she could think of no one other than Ren who’d been hell-bent on capturing her himself. It didn’t make sense.

A loud buzz made her jump.   
“Rey?” called a friendly voice through her door. A button on the door clicked and another loud buzz came through. “Are you ready? Leia’s about to start.”  
“I—I’m on my way,” she called back.   
There was a pause. “Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine, Finn,” she said quickly.   
Another pause.

FN-2187, or Finn, as he’s been called since he abandoned the First Order and began aiding the Resistance, thought about asking Rey if she was sure she was okay. He scratched through his flight jacket at the edge of a long bandage that covered a large, but mending, scar above his spine from his last meeting with the First Order’s Kylo Ren. After contemplating what little he knew and understood about Rey, he decided against asking and continued down the hallway to the meeting room. 


	2. Chapter 2

General Leia Organa began the meeting like any other. She reminded the small group of Resistance leaders that she was immensely proud of their efforts, then led a moment of silence for fallen comrades. It’d only been a month since her husband was killed by Kylo Ren, yet General Organa held herself with a powerful dignity. Later, when the leaders of the sectors huddled with their groups, they would laud Leia’s strength, adding it to her many qualities of fine leadership.  
When the moment of silence had finished, General Organa asked for updates on each of the sectors. Poe Dameron, standing on her left, went first. He was teaching his fellow pilots information R2-D2 retrieved from a search of the Empire archives. Soon, every Resistance pilot would know the ins and outs of all known First Order vessels, how to fly them, and how to bring them down. He told the General the training would be complete by the end of the month.

In this manner, the meeting continued. One-by-one, around the small room, leaders from all over the Resistance effort gave an update on their sectors. Not one was by any means faltering or in need of drastic help, which was both shocking and impressive as the Resistance had lost its supporting planets so recently. Leia ended that portion of the meeting in high spirits.  
During Poe’s update, Rey had gotten to the doors of the meeting room, but was stopped by two Resistance fighters who were acting as security for the meeting. She demanded entrance, but was denied until the first portion of the meeting was finished. She took to pacing while she waited. When Leia dismissed all non-essential personnel, which was almost everyone, Rey rushed through the open door, dodging around the dismissed. The room was large, but a massive circular platform used for holograms took up most of the space. Standing around it were Leia, Admiral Stratura, Poe, two of the Resistance’s top strategists, and Finn.  
Finn caught her eye first. He was standing on Poe’s left, on the opposite side of the room. He half-smiled.  
“Rey,” General Organa noted, not looking up from the tablet she was gazing at. “You missed the update from the sectors.”  
“Sorry, General, I—”  
The bulbous, roiling cloud that was Rey’s thoughts floated across Leia’s senses and she looked up. “You’re uneasy?”  
Rey, still not used to Leia’s force-sensitivity, both shook and nodded her head in two separate, awkward motions.  
Both Finn and Poe became alert at the General’s statement.  
“What’s wrong?” Finn burst.  
Leia frowned, “Finn.”  
The few people in the room turned their attention to the former Stormtrooper.  
Leia made eye contact with each person in the room, “and the rest of you. Excuse us.”  
The small crowd meandered to the doorway, where Rey was still standing, and left the room.  
The weight of authority seemed to melt off Leia when the metal doors whooshed shut. She approached the young girl she’d come to think of as a daughter of sorts, and gave her a look befitting that title.  
“Rey, what’s wrong?” Leia said softly.  
“I’ve been having dreams—about—” she trailed off; her eyebrows pulled together as she debated continuing. She wanted to talk, yet she couldn’t bring herself to tell the General about her son.  
Leia’s thoughts were always on her son, but more when Rey was near. She gathered the source of Rey’s troubled mind instantly. “Kylo Ren.”  
Rey nodded again. “He’s t—”  
Leia watches her expectantly.  
“He’s torturing someone.”  
Leia’s features fell almost imperceptibly.  
“A man. Someone who lost the map—and me,” Rey continued. “Kylo Ren asked the man if he was too weak to continue his ‘path?’” She searched Leia’s eyes for answers that were not there.  
Leia sat down in a nearby chair. “A path,” she contemplated.  
“It’s only a dream, though?”  
Leia forced a smile. “Dreams do tend to predict certain aspects of reality, but yes. It was only a dream.”  
This was the end of the discussion and the General called the meeting back to order, allowing their five departed colleagues to return.  
Rey, unsatisfied, looked down at her feet. Her dark shoes were new to her and free of any trace of her former home. She almost longed for her clothing from Jakku. It was comfortable, worn, and reliable. She felt safe in it, something she did not feel at this moment. A swell of nostalgia and regret filled her as she silently inspected the rest of her outfit. If it could mock her, it had ample reason to do so. In a retrospectively childish fit of rage during her search for the elusive Luke Skywalker, Rey had burned every bit of Jakku from her belongings. If only she could burn the sand-filled world from her memories too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey recalls her time with Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Finally got chapter three where I wanted it. Sorry it took so long. Also, I've updated the chapter count to a tentative 16. I've got 8 written so far...so we'll see. Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS loved!!

_This was the fifth island in the long string of islands she and Chewie had searched today. Well,_ she _searched. Chewie stayed aboard the_ Millennium Falcon, _like he did throughout their voyage, growling about wanting to fix a loose panel or organize the myriad of tools Han Solo had aboard the ship._

_As she climbed the stony steps of this particular island, she reminisced her time before this journey when she assumed the map would lead her and Chewie straight to Skywalker’s precise location. To her chagrin, the map merely led them to Ahch-to, a planet on which the first Jedi temple was built. Over centuries, the original land which housed the temple broke apart, reducing the once magnificent structure to semisolid piles of rock scattered across hundreds of islands around the ocean-covered planet._  
_Rey was cresting the moss-covered mountain, breathing hard. She looked ahead, rather than at her feet and the steps she was climbing. As she got over the last rock, she found herself in a grassy valley in between the two summits of this island. She looked around tiredly, guessing this would be yet another failed search. Then she saw him. A sandy cloak with the hood up stood motionless at the far end of the valley, mere yards away. She gasped and the cloak turned, slowly, as if it was unsurprised at her presence. Two hands, one tanned and wrinkled, the other sleek and metallic, reached up to pull the hood down. The old man’s hair was mostly gray; brown streaks of hair still protruded from his head; his mustache and beard had long since seen any color that resembled youthfulness. His features were tired and freckled from a lifetime in the sun. His deep blue eyes widened slightly at the sight of Rey. She walked toward him, reaching into her bag for something that she once swore never to touch again—Luke’s lightsaber. She held it out, offering it to him, only a few feet away now, and watched him carefully. Luke looked at the lightsaber and at Rey, utterly emotionless._  
_“What are you doing here?” his low, calm voice broke the silence of the valley._

A sickness washed through her, like it had when she’d first touched Luke’s saber on Takodana. Images of training padawans flew across her vision. Luke stood above them, demonstrating a new stance. “A little higher, good,” he nodded to one of his students.  
She looked right. Lush forests bordered them on three sides. Greener mountains and hints of stone structures could be seen in between the impossibly tall trees. Salty air breathed through the clearing and Rey looked left.  
Ocean. The ocean. Looking further, she saw a swell of green, pushing through the deep blue waters.

You imagine an ocean. I see it. I see the island. 

She looked back to Luke and his padawans. There were maybe fifteen of them, all varying in age, standing in a two-rowed half-circle before their master. Luke began weaving between the padawans, scrutinizing their forms. He got to a small one on the end. “Focus, young one,” he chided quietly. “Yes, Master Luke,” a small voice replied. Rey knew that voice. She craned her neck to get a better look at the youngling, but Luke’s cloak blew in the breeze, blocking her vision. She walked toward the pair instead, and then froze in place when she saw three small chestnut-colored buns tied down the back of the padawan’s head. 

_She burst from the vision as quickly as it had come upon her. The cloaked figure watched her carefully._  
_“What?” she gasped softly._  
_Luke stared blankly at her as she heaved breaths._  
_“You—you know me,” she accused, lowering the unignited lightsaber._  
_This time, Luke’s features betrayed him and Rey could see the surprise mingled with guilt spread across his face._  
_“How do you know me?” she demanded._  
_Luke Skywalker sighed. “I know you,” he began softly. “because you are Rey Kenobi of Stewjon. Granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi master who taught me the ways of the Force._

_Rey gaped. None of the names were familiar to her in the least, but each struck a chord deep within as Luke spoke._  
_She’d always been waiting for someone. She’d been waiting so long she’d given up hope, especially when her Force sensitivities came to light. She thought she was completely alone. And now, actual confirmation that she’d inherited these gifts, that she’d had family, that there was undeniable evidence that she didn’t just appear on Jakku one day._  
_Luke could only watch her gather her thoughts until she pulled herself from her awed silence._  
_“Kenobi?” her voice caught._

_Luke looked around briefly and, upon finding what he was looking for, walked the remaining steps to Rey and led her to a group of boulders that had been eroded by wind and sea enough to form semi-comfortable seating. The pair situated themselves on the rocks. Rey, still holding the lightsaber, offered it once more to Luke, who flinched away from it. He made a motion that she keep it and she tucked it back into her bag._  
_“Kenobi,” Luke began after a moment. “is who you are, your ancestry and legacy. Stewjon is the planet you were born on, the planet where I found you.”_  
_“Found me?” she breathed._  
_“Your father was killed before your birth. Your mother sent communications to me about you when you were young. Her father, Obi-Wan, was a Jedi Master. He had to leave your mother when she was very young.” Luke’s voice grew solemn. “When he died, he visited your mother with his Force Spirit. He told her to seek out the Republic if ever she needed help. When she sensed the Force within you, she found me. I came to Stewjon to collect you and I took you to Yavin 4 with other Force-sensitive children I’d found throughout my travels.”_  
_“I don’t remember,” she trailed off._  
_“There were 13 padawan in our school. You were one of them.”_  
_“And Jakku?” she probed._  
_He sighed. He’d told her too much, he knew, but the words flowed anyway. “The planet you were taken to after the Kylo Ren murdered 12 of your fellow padawan.”_  
_“He_ spared _me,” she breathed, not believing Kylo Ren capable of mercy._  
_“He_ missed _you,” Luke corrected. “I found you in the aftermath, unconscious. Most likely, he thought he’d gotten everyone and did not check for survivors.”_

_Tears began flowing freely down Rey’s flushed cheeks. By an error of judgement, she was alive. By a simple miscalculation, she’d grown up alone. Luke watched her carefully. A weight was lifted from his shoulders, but clarity came upon him as Rey’s tears slowed and she remembered why she’d come. She wiped her cheeks, annoyed with herself for showing such emotions, and looked at Luke._  
_“I need you to teach me,” she announced, confidently._  
_Luke knew that was her reason for coming. It was only a matter of time before the Republic would find the map to Ahch-To. When he sensed Rey arriving on the planet after so many years, he knew she’d been rescued from Jakku, wrapped up in the Resistance, and sent to be properly trained, as was her destiny before Kylo Ren’s rampage._  
_“No,” he stated harshly, leaving no room for question or negotiation. He rose from his boulder and began walking back to his place of meditation in the valley. Rey stared after him._  
_“No?” she called._  
_“I will not teach you,” Luke said, his back turned to her. “And I will not come back to the Resistance.”_  


_At that moment, on a planet far away and covered in more green than blue, Leia, who had felt her brother’s Force come to life only moments before, felt it shudder and silence as it had when he exiled himself so many years ago. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest. Luke felt his sister’s ache and he breathed hard. Though the love for her was great, his reason to stay in exile was greater. “It is better this way,” he said, more to himself than anyone else._

_Rey slid from her rock to approach the Jedi. “Why?”_  
 _Luke did not turn, nor did he answer._  
 _“Who else can teach me?” she begged. “Who else can I turn to?”_  
 _Luke again did nothing as Rey’s anger threatened to restart the stream of tears._  
 _“You took me from my home,” her voice broke. “You abandoned me on that planet. I was just a child. And now you refuse to help me? You don’t get to walk away from me, from the Resistance! Kylo Ren and the First Order destroyed the Republic! I have to defeat him!_ I need a teacher!”  
 _The aged man finally turned. “I’m sorry, Rey. I will not help you.” He turned back around, staring out over the ocean. He wanted to offer something more apologetic or helpful in some way, but nothing came to mind._  


_Unable to breathe properly while feeling an unfamiliar level of betrayal and hatred, Rey turned her back on him and began marching down the mountain. As an afterthought, she reached into her bag, retrieved Luke’s lightsaber, and threw it as far as she could, away from herself and Luke. It landed with a plunk in the ocean below. She continued down the mountain, steaming, until she saw the_ Falcon _and Chewie, who was tinkering with a broken blaster._  
_The hairy and impossibly tall beast heard something hit the water and looked up to find Rey descending. Her look was all he needed to understand all was not right. Either they’d once again stumbled on a deserted island and she was frustrated, or she found Luke and he’d done something to upset her. Whatever the reason, the Wookiee stood from his crouch, tucked the weapon under his formidable arm, and started up the platform into the ship. He made his way to the cockpit and sat his furry self into the co-pilot’s chair. Rey had offered the pilot’s position to him when they began their mission, but he was more comfortable on the right of the cockpit._

_A guttural noise emanated from the Wookiee, calling out to his travelling companion. No answer. Chewbacca glanced at the empty island through the cockpit window, searching for Rey. She should’ve already been inside. He began meandering through the ship, down this corridor and that, until he found her._  
_She was holding a sand-colored tunic above the small incinerator intended for disposing of day-to-day waste. Her rucksack, open on the ground, held two more similarly colored items of clothing which she also threw into the incinerator. Smoke did not rise from the pit. No sound could be heard other than the girl’s soft cries and irritated grunts when a tattered boot would not burn fast enough. The Wookiee had no idea how to deal with this kind of behavior, so he merely stood in the corridor until Rey finished burning Jakku from her being, collected herself and returned to the cockpit._  
_Once they were both buckled into their chairs, Chewbacca grunted a query to Rey, to which she responded, “D’Qar.”_  
_Another throaty question._  
_“Spring cleaning,” she said simply, flipping switches and hitting buttons as the_ Millennium Falcon _roared to life._  
_The Wookiee, completing his own take-off check list, murmured a soft whine, another question for Rey._  
“No.” _Her icy tone worried him, but he did not wish to argue with her._

_A certain out-of-practice Jedi Master watched them from a valley between two summits of the island. He looked longingly at the craft, certain his actions would benefit the greater good. His last thought before the ship vanished into space was one of hope and confidence in this girl. And with that, Luke Skywalker returned to his meditation._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are Rey's dreams actually visions? Statura doesn't think so, but that won't stop Poe Dameron from testing Rey's theory.

The meeting progressed in the same way. Leia had the moment of silence, updates from the sectors, and then the meeting of the six people she trusted most: her second in command, two strategists, Poe Dameron, Rey, and Finn. Though she’d not known Rey or Finn long enough to truly trust them, they were directly related to the problem at hand and the General felt they should be included in these private meetings where First Order matters were discussed.  


Leia was worried. She sensed her only son deep in anger and pain. She sensed the young Rey also in pain, but more in confusion at the dreams she was having. Leia wished silently for Luke to aid her. _Help me, Luke,_ she begged internally. _I cannot do this alone. I don’t understand the Force like you do. I cannot protect my son, and I cannot protect Rey. She needs you, Luke. We need you._  
“General?” Poe Dameron asked softly.  


Leia opened her eyes and her six cohorts were staring at her with worry-filled expressions. Leia ignored them and got down to the reason for this particular meeting.  
“It’s been more than two months since the destruction of Starkiller Base,” she began as Admiral Statura brought up a holographic map of the destroyed structure’s vicinity. The map showed only rubble floating aimlessly in the blackness of space. Some pieces were large enough to land a spacecraft on, but most of the remnants of the planet were no bigger than a TIE fighter’s cockpit.  
“We need to find out how many of the First Order survived the implosion and— _Rey,_ ” Leia addressed the girl clad in navy and gray, whose cloud of thought had been thumping against Leia’s senses since early this morning. “Is there something you have to say?”  


Rey looked up, shocked at the General calling her out so suddenly. She’d been thinking about her dreams and how they might not be dreams after all, but were communications. She based this hypothesis on her latest nightly vision. It was as if the victim of Kylo Ren’s seemingly endless torture knew someone was listening in and had sent a glimpse of a map as a clue. Rey knew only the name of the system, Ashas Ree. The First Order, she hoped, was hiding there, along with a desperate prisoner. She’d been practicing in her head how to ask General Organa to allow her to find the First Order and save the prisoner. She knew if she was wrong it would likely end in her death, or dismissal from Leia’s weekly meetings, but she couldn’t ignore the feeling that she was right and whoever she was hoping to save would be all too willing to share the plans of the First Order after rescue.  
“ _Rey,_ ” Leia called again.  
“I think they First Order is hiding in the Ashas Ree system,” Rey blurted to the room.  


Everyone, even the General, gaped at her.  
Finn, who was familiar with Sith space and the fact that the First Order preferred hiding in Resistance-free systems, broke the stunned silence of the room. “How do you know?”  
Rey did not address her answer to him. She looked to Leia and spoke softly. “I think they’re in the Ashas Ree system and they’ve been torturing a prisoner that could aid the Resistance if—”  
“If?” Poe Dameron cut in almost excitedly. He had a personal vendetta against the First Order and was all too willing to lend his services, especially if it spared a prisoner from Kylo Ren’s unique brand of torture.  
“ _If_ she leads a rescue mission.” The accusation came from Admiral Statura, Leia’s second, who was plainly irritated with this line of thought. “A _reckless_ and _dangerous_ rescue mission with information that is _unfounded_ because it is _based on dreams,_ ” he finished by placing both hands on the hologram platform, which still broadcasted bits of Starkiller Base, and leaned toward Rey on the opposite side as he spat ‘dreams,’ hoping the rest of the room would realize the stupidity and rashness of the girl’s endeavor.  


Rey narrowed her eyes at Statura, who narrowed his right back.  
“Admiral,” Leia soothed. “Rey is Force-sensitive, as you well know, and these dreams, in her case, could be visions.” She shifted her attention to a triumphant Rey. “ _However,_ we need more solid information than dreams or visions to launch a search party into Sith-controlled space.”  
Rey’s face fell.  
“My point exactly, General,” said Statura, satisfied that the dreams Leia had told him after the regular meeting last week would not be allowed to endanger the Resistance.  
“But General,” Rey fought, “these _visions,_ ” she cast a glare to Statura, “will lead us to the First Order. The prisoner showed me a map.”  
“If these are visions,” Statura cut in, “the prisoner could be setting us up for a trap. They know Rey has the Force and they will try to exploit her naivety.”  
“ _I am not naïve, Admiral._ ” She turned to Leia and opened her mouth to continue voicing her stance. Leia held up a hand to silence her.  
“We simply cannot risk the people or resources for a rescue mission without physical proof that the First Order is in Ashas Ree.” Leia’s tone effectively ended the discussion and she carried on the meeting. “Now, we’ve received intelligence that could help us identify weapons like the Starkiller Base, as I’m sure they will attempt a reconstruction.”

Rey stared at the circular platform, barely hearing the strategists go back and forth with Leia and the admiral. Finn, who had been worried during the earlier exchange that the General would grant his friend leave for what he considered to be a suicide mission, finally relaxed. He even got in on the strategists’ conversation, offering what little he knew of the First Order’s weapon and possible future targets, were the weapon recreated.  


Poe Dameron, however, was looking intently at Rey.  


He knew little of the Force and the so-called visions its practitioners were privy to, but he knew a lot about rescue missions. He, being the best Resistance pilot, had ample experience retrieving lost people, and data, from particularly sticky situations. His last mission did not go _exactly_ as planned, but both the map to Luke Skywalker and its carrier, BB-8, made it back to the Resistance base before the First Order had a chance to see it. Poe called that a success. His thoughts now centered on how he and Rey could get to Ashas-Ree, retrieve a prisoner that was likely being held under plenty of surveillance, and get back to the Resistance base without the First Order or General Organa finding out. That is, until the former discovered they were missing a prisoner and the latter finding an extra body in the monthly census.  
He could do it, though, he was sure. Rey was a fine pilot, and he’d added to her vast knowledge over the last month. His personalized X-Wing would not fit the two of them, a droid, and a refugee, but Poe could easily acquire other means. _The Falcon,_ he thought. With few modifications, the legendary ship could easily—his mind jumped to another thought—will they need extra people? Surely it would take at least two people to infiltrate the First Order and get the prisoner. They may need medics. _At least one,_ he reasoned internally. How would they get back to the Falcon after boarding the First Order’s ship? They would need to steal a craft from the Order if they occupied a ship, but could they land the Falcon on it? Rey would most-likely want to rescue the prisoner, so—Or were they on a planet? _Planet would be best,_ Poe nodded to himself.  
The meeting concluded as the best pilot in the Resistance perfected every aspect of his plan. 

Poe Dameron didn’t want to seem too eager to catch Rey as they both exited the meeting room. Leia would surely guess, or perhaps she already knew, his mutinous aims. No matter. Poe made his way down the hall, tailing Rey at a distance too far to be suspicious. When she paused in front of her living quarters, Poe jogged to catch up.  
“Rey,” he called quietly, coming to a stop in front of her.  
“Poe?” she eyed him, wary.  
“I want to talk to you about the rescue mission.”  
Rey’s eyes widened and a warmth tingled at her fingertips.


	5. Chapter 5

It was three days before Rey and Poe officially had their plan ready and two days more until they would embark on their rescue mission under the cover of night.  
The two had agreed on their preferred team instantly. Chewbacca, because he could pilot the _Falcon_ in the event that Poe or Rey were unable, and Finn, because he had ample experience with the First Order and would never allow Poe or Rey to hear the end of it if he were left behind.

“Do we really need a medic?” Rey asked softly.  
Rey, Chewie, Finn, and Poe were sitting at a table in the dining hall, surrounded by other conversations. Finn thought this was perhaps the stupidest place to plan an illegal mission, but Poe was more than convinced that planning under the cover of a noisy mealtime would be more clandestine than risking their absence being noticed.  
“You said the prisoner’s being tortured, right?” Poe said across the table  
“But the few medics we have are all easily recognized!” she fought without raising her voice. “And who knows if they’d be willing to help us.”  
“The Resistance’s best pilot will be pretty hard to miss too.” He gave her a wink. “But here I am, risking life and limb to go on a secret rescue mission in Sith space.”  
Rey’s vision pulsed with red. _Conceited fool,_ a voice sounded in her head.  
Finn chuckled and Chewie let out a short huff.  
“You’re right,” Poe smiled, nodding to the Wookiee. “They’re big weapon is gone and Rey gave Kylo Ren a proper Resistance send-off. This’ll be cake compared to all that.”  
“And I can—,” Finn started.  
Rey shot up from her seat. She wanted to smack Poe Dameron across the face. _No._ She wanted to close her fingers around his throat. “You foolish, _arrogant, son of a—”_  
Her mouth was suddenly full of Wookiee fur as Chewbacca had thrown his large arm across her face, simultaneously pulling her back into her seat. He grunted a warning to the group about keeping their voices down and released Rey.  
Another bout of anger swelled within her, foreign and dark. Her hands tightened into fists and she felt scorching heat prick against her torso. In an instant, the pain was gone and her vision cleared.  
“Sorry,” she breathed, looking between her three co-conspirators. “I-I don’t know what came over me.”  
Finn and Poe watched her warily from across the table.  
Chewie made a show of looking around the crowded dining hall. When it was clear no one was eavesdropping, Poe cocked his head at Rey.  
“Are you okay?”  
She nodded shortly. “Just anxious, I think,” she said more to herself than Poe.  
The weight of three pairs of eyes settled on her face.  
“I’m fine,” Rey assured both the men and herself. “Finn,” she squared her shoulders. “You were saying something?”  
Finn realized a second too late that she was addressing him. “Uh, ye-yeah. _I_ can be our medic.”

 

 

 _~~Shortly after Starkiller Base exploded~~_  
_“He should be waking up soon,” said a soft male voice._  
_“He’s lucky. I’ve never seen a saber cut that deep. The new spine was implanted perfectly. He’ll have to keep the scar for now, though,” said a woman._  
_Finn’s eyes flickered open. He was on his stomach. Everything in him felt heavy and aching. He tried to push himself up, but the shot of pain running up his back froze him in place on the cot._  
_“Easy there, Finn,” the woman’s voice said to his right. “You can’t sit up right now; your back is still healing.”_  
_“Finn?” the injured Stormtrooper scrunched his face at the word. “Finn. I’m Finn.”_  
They were in the snowy forests of Starkiller. Kylo Ren had her. He’d thrown her against a tree. She was unconscious. He was going to kill her! Finn tried to fight him, but his world went black as the red crossguard swiped up his back.

_His head shot up. “REY!” he screamed and scrambled from the bed, ignoring the searing pain from his injury._  
_Finn wobbled, hunched, from the bed, but two medics caught him under the arms and forced him backward._  
_“WHERE IS SHE?” he yelled, slurring a little._  
_“Sedate him,” one of the medics ordered through his teeth, trying to maintain a grip on the struggling patient._

 

_When Finn woke again, the pain was significantly better. He was on the cot again and could see the backs of two medics a few feet away. Not noticing his consciousness, they remained turn away from him, talking to each other. Finn’s thoughts were still foggy, but clarity came to one: get off this ship. He blinked his dark eyes, finding his surroundings only slightly familiar. Star Destroyer, he decided, doing his best to look around the pale room. One of the medics caught the movement and approached his side._  
_“Are you feeling okay, Finn?” she asked._  
_Finn stared at her aged face. He’d seen her before. But where?_  
_“Your back is mostly healed now, but you’ll need a few more days.” She moved her hands over the bandage. “The Bacta tanks would’ve healed it quicker, but we’ve only got the one.” She tsk-ed. “Even if it was empty, we couldn’t move you. Your new spine wouldn’t react quite right to the Bacta. It could just make it worse.”_  
_Finn’s eyebrows pulled together in immense confusion. Bacta tanks weren’t standard on Star Destroyers. He couldn’t place himself._  
_“And you’ll have to keep the scar,” she continued gently, brushing a grey-brown strand of hair from her face. “When we get better resources, we can heal it fully, but—”_  
_“Wh-why did y-you bring me here?” Finn gasped out through exhaustion and lingering pains._  
_“You’re injured.”_  
_“And you’re h-healing me?” he breathed. “Just s-so Ren can torture me?”_  
_The medic’s thin brows pulled together. She brought a flashlight up and shined it into his eyes. He squinted._  
_“Y-you can go t-to hell,” he spat, but she didn’t react beyond clicking the flashlight off and reaching to her side for another tool._  
_He glared at her as she brought a whirring instrument to his face and slowly glided it down his form without touching him._  
_“The girl—Rey—Where is she? What did you do to her?” he spat through his teeth._  
_Satisfied with the readings of the auscultator, the medic clipped the device to her belt and smiled at Finn, creasing more wrinkles into her face. “Your friend is fine. A little scratched up, but you both made it off Starkiller before it was destroyed.”_  
_“And I hear you had a hand it that,” a male medic approached the pair, crouching to meet Finn’s eye. He looked much younger than the woman._  
_“Blowing up Starkiller?” he grinned. “You’re a hero, Finn.”_  
_A hero? Finn closed his eyes tightly._

FN-2187. That’s the only name they gave me. 

_No, he was Finn now. They called him Finn._  
_“Where am I?” he coughed out._  
_“D’Qar. The base of the Resistance,” the man answered proudly._  
_A sigh rolled through Finn’s body. They’d made it._

 

_“Kriff,” Finn groaned as he stumbled along a short walkway meant to help him relearn how to walk. He’d been confined to physical therapy for the first week of his three-week confinement to sick bay._  
_“Y’alright there, buddy?”_  
_“Poe!” Finn’s face lit up at the approach of the grinning pilot, who gripped him in a tight hug. Pain shot down the former Stormtrooper’s healing back, and though he did his best to ignore it, his body jolted._  
_Poe released him with a quick apology; a small orange and white BB unit rolled toward the pair._  
_The droid made a series of beeps and whirrs; Poe smiled._  
_“BB-8 wants to know how you like your new spine.”_  
_“I’ll let you know when I stop wanting to rip it out,” Finn huffed._  
_Poe raised a dark eyebrow._  
_Finn groaned. “I feel fine,” he said, loud enough for one of the nearby medics to hear._  
_Poe smiled again and gripped Finn’s shoulder, “I know you do.”_  
_BB-8 let out another beep._  
_“Oh, yeah!” Poe nodded to the droid and looked back to Finn. “We’ve got a surprise for you.”_  
_The pilot, clad in a red flight suit, reached to his side where a simple rucksack hung. He unzipped and fished out of the bag a worn leather jacket. Poe held up the article so Finn could see the stitches that seamed down the back of the brown flight jacket, matching up where he’d been sliced almost in half with Kylo Ren’s crossguard._  
_“Your jacket,” Finn beamed._  
“Your _jacket,” Poe corrected, flinging the garment around Finn’s shoulders._

 

___“You’re walking pretty well now,” Poe commented a few days later, between bites of a yellow bar from his ration pack._  
_He had made a habit of visiting Finn a few times a day, usually tailed by an orange and white droid._  
_“Where’s BB-8?” Finn asked, avoiding the subject of his health. He took a bite of an orange cube Poe had offered him._  
_Poe looked amused, “Reconnaissance mission with Black Squadron.”_  
_Finn’s brow furrowed. “Isn’t that your squadron?”_  
_“I’m Black Leader, yeah.”_  
_“Then why aren’t you with them?”_  
_Poe shrugged, “They don’t need me on this one.”_  
_Finn made a face._  
_“Major Kalonia said you passed your physical,” Poe circled back to Finn’s health._  
_Finn groaned. “Yeah, but I’m still stuck here for another week while I ‘heal some more.’”_  
_“It can’t be that bad, Finn.”_  
_He was about to assert that it was, in fact, that bad, but a young woman Finn recognized as Lieutenant Connix burst into the med bay._  
_“Poe!” she panted. “General needs you.”_  
_Poe snapped his ration pack closed and shoved the box into his bag. With the last bite of the yellow bar clenched between his teeth, Poe stood and placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Can’t be that bad,” he mumbled around the bar, moving his hand to pat the side of Finn’s neck. “Hang in there.”_  
_Finn watched the pilot and lieutenant run through the med bay doors._  
_“Finn, can you give me a hand over hear?” a voice called._

___With most of the Resistance’s few medics aiding missions and tending to the more badly wounded, Major Harter Kalonia realized the need for more hands._  
Finn, still confined to med bay as his body got used to his new spine, was making great progress in his healing. He was also very inquisitive, the major had noticed. When she’d explained his new spine to him, Finn couldn’t stop asking questions. Where was the metal from; how did they mold it on D’Qar; what did they do with his old spine; how does the technology work.  
_After one day of Finn’s interrogatory onslaught, Major Kalonia went to General Organa, asking for permission to train Finn while he healed._  
_This set-up worked for both the former Stormtrooper and the major. Finn got to learn and explore a new profession, thus satiating his boredom, and Major Kalonia got the help she desperately needed._

___Finn huffed a little at her request, but walked over to help the major. She was bringing a patient out of the Bacta tank. The young pilot, who had been confined to the tank for almost a month, was now healed and ready to be brought out of stasis. Finn did his best to support the weight and slipperiness of the pilot while the major guided them to a nearby cot. Once Finn had positioned the girl on the bed, Major Kalonia ran the auscultator down her body. She checked the readings and tsk-ed. “Lucky kid,” she said in a tone Poe had called ‘mothering.’_  
_The major turned to Finn, who was rubbing a spot on his lower back. She pulled his hand away and ran the auscultator down his spine. “You’ll live,” she said, tucking the gadget into a pocket._  
_Finn turned around and helped the major tend to the girl on the cot. She’d been in some kind of explosion, Finn had guessed the first time he’d seen her. Her small form had been littered with cuts and bruises and burns._  
_“Lema Eelyak,” Major Kalonia informed Finn. “She works with Lieutenant Connix in command, but she wanted to help the effort against Starkiller. Fine pilot, but there’s a reason she worked in command.”_  
_Finn frowned as he wiped Bacta residue from the girl’s pale forehead and long black hair._  
_“She’ll wake soon,” the major said. “We can get better readings on her then.”_  
_With that, Major Kalonia walked back to the Bacta tank to properly clean and prep it for next time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes out to the kudos-leavers who encouraged me to keep writing, and the first comment-leavers (on here and on Wattpad). You guys rock! Thanks for your feedback. I ended up making this chapter is a little longer than the others. I'm hoping to keep the chapters around this length, but we'll just have to see.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first "published" fanfic! Tell me what you think and if you'd like more chapters! Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome.


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